The present invention relates to animal foods, and more particularly, to methods for producing animal foods having increased palatability.
There is a continuing effort being made to develop processes and formulations which permit increasing the palatability of animal foods while maintaining their nutritional value. The development and production of nutritious animal foods has posed few problems to the art. It is essential, however, to make these formulations sufficiently palatable that the animals eat them in the amounts required for proper nutrition.
Representative of efforts to increase pet food palatability is the disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,908, wherein M. E. Buck et al disclosed an intermediate-moisture feline food. According to that invention a stable animal food having a moisture content of 35-45% was prepared by pasteurizing and emulsifying an aqueous meat slurry; adding thereto about 5-20% of an ungelatinized amylaceous flour and stabilizing solutes such as sugar at a level exceeding 10%, salt and sufficient acidulants to obtain a pH of from about 4 to 6; and extrusion cooking the resulting composition. According to one aspect of that invention, it was suggested that Torula yeast and protein concentrates such as sodium caseinate or bovine blood be added along with the dry ingredients after emulsification and pasteurization at elevated temperature. The patent suggests adding sufficient acid prior to the emulsification or pasteurization step such that partial denaturation of the meat constituents will occur. Alternatively, the reference suggests the addition of alkali for this same purpose or the use of proteolytic enzymes. Although this reference mentions the potential use of yeast, reducing sugars, fat, and animal blood at various stages in the preparation of the animal food, it is not recognized that a palatability improving composition can be prepared by employing these ingredients along with the appropriate enzymes at moderate temperatures to effect an enzymatic reaction and then heating only after completion of the enzymatic reaction to inactivate the enzymes and to more fully develop the flavorful compounds.
In another recent effort, G. J. Haas et al disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,968, that a palatability improving composition for animal foods can be prepared by reacting an aqueous mixture of protein and emulsified fat with lipase and protease. This disclosure, however, does not teach the unique characteristics which can be obtained through the use of fat, animal blood and yeast in combination with reducing sugars.
Thus, while many workers suggest the production or enhancement of flavorful animal foods for purposes of animal palatability, consumer contentment and manufacturing economy, there remains a vast need for improved and alternative compositions if only for the sake of providing a variety of flavorful compositions which will have the net overall effect of increasing consumption of the foods by pets.